Rating: 
Summary: MTV Finds Great Talent with "Luck"
Review: MTV Films is responsible for such timeless classics as "Jackass: The Movie" and "Joe's Apartment." Marvelous, marvelous filmmaking. Who hasn't wanted to see a grown man deliver an electric shock to his testicles on the big screen or a film about talking roaches? Now, imagine my surprise when I found out that MTV had associated its corporate hipness with Justin Lin's "Better Luck Tomorrow," a touching coming-of-age story involving Asian-American students. Since when did Music Television, supporters of N'Stink and Mandy Boar, bring to mind serious filmmaking? ("Election" doesn't count because I loathe Matthew Broderick).
Remember when I said that "Better Luck Tomorrow" was touching? I was being sarcastic. Some of the violence in this flick actually shook me from my constant state of desensitization for a couple of milliseconds. The film starts off with a shock, then flashes back a couple of months to when four Asian-American high school students are nothing more than ambitious overachievers. It then gradually reveals their rise to power within the school community. Thier growing cockiness and risky behavior inevitably lead to their sad, though much deserved, downfall. All of this is seen through the eyes of Ben (Parry Shen) who, with the help of his sexually frustrated friend Virgil (Jason Tobin), sociopath Daric (Roger Fan), and Virgil's cousin Han (Sung Kang), goes from being a by-the-books honor student to a petty criminal and drug abuser. The corruption and academic decathlons are intertwined with a love story between Ben and his lab partner Stephanie (Karin Anna Cheung) who may or may not be a porn star. These scenes are quiet and slow when compared to the rest of the movie but necessary for the subtle irony that is revealed at the film's end.
Did I mention that Jerry Mathers is in this movie? That's right! The original Beaver, as in "Leave It to Beaver"! Man, talk about the best cameo ever! I think this film will revive his career the way "Pulp Fiction" saved Travolta. Hollywood, give this man a call.
Justin Lin, who directed, co-produced and co-wrote the movie, used ten credit cards and his own savings to finance this film. That shows a good film can still be made for under a trillion dollars and not need computer effects in place of real actors (George Lucas take note). While Lin's direction is effective for the most part, he has a habit of using annoying camera tricks that have become the trademark of directors like McG or Michael Bay. Quick cuts and swirling camera movements may have been cool when I was a teenager, but I have now come to believe they are leading contributors to attention deficit disorder.
The movie is good, but it has its faults. Obvious ones. A writing instructor of mine once said that there should be authenticity to ethnic characters in any story or else there's no point in making them ethnic in the first place. The following is an example of my CSUN education taking effect. About halfway through "Better Luck Tomorrow" I thought to myself, "Why do these characters need to be Asian?" Is it because the filmmaker was Asian? Is it because being Asian is cool? Is it because affirmative action has snuck its way into independent filmmaking? If these aren't the reasons, then why? There's no hint of Asian culture to be found anywhere in this film. The main characters are so Americanized that they could have been replaced by the cast of "Dawson's Creek" and nobody would have noticed. Having expected something more culturally authentic, this little nuance led to some disappointment. What the film lacks in culture it makes up for with stereotypes. Asians are good at math and this film isn't afraid to show it. But don't expect any kung fu.
Another problem is the casting. The actors are surprisingly believable and show a wide range of emotions. Unfortunately, only half of them are passable as high school students. The others look like they belong in a college frat. Casting adults as teenagers has always bothered me so needless to say it distracted me throughout the entire film.
Reminiscent of works by Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie, "Better Luck Tomorrow" is a "fall from grace" story laced with the violence and attitude we've come to expect from modern films. Though its flaws show through, it's still a striking film that will lead to greater things for Justin Lin.
Grade: B or 4 out of 5 stars
Rating: 
Summary: This is Not Hardcore
Review: Better Luck Tomorrow may be an eye-opener for some. In essence, though, it's juvenile and uninspired. Technically it's a pretty well-made film, and certainly more interesting than most of the garbage that passes for a teen movie these days, but I can't get over the essential dishonesty of the premise. In its own way, it's as bad as a completley sanitized portrait of teenage life like The Perfect Score.
To analyze the film by dividing it into two pieces: the setup, and where it goes from there. The setup is obvious truth, and the rest is mostly wishful thinking.
The perfectionist standards imposed on modern youth, and, in particular, on Asian-American youth, are a dull reality to most suburban American teenagers. This depiction is dead-on accurate, if a bit exaggerated in places. So in the beginning, the film has value by holding up a mirror to the teenage viewer. However, showing a relatable situation isn't enough on its own to hold up a work of art; a film has to use that situation and those characters, which the viewer already empathizes with, to either tell a story or make a point. This is where Better Luck starts to fail.
The descent of the main characters into a seamy world of crime, violence is sex is, ironically, boring. It's predictable, first of all - after the exaggeration of the premise, what could the film do but turn that premise on its head? - and unconvincing and insincere, second of all. The film from the halfway point on has the feeling of a project undertaken by students exactly like its protagonists, trying to conjure up images of a more glamorous existence. Everything is guilty fantasy. Even though, supposedly, this seamy underworld is more 'real' than the sanitized suburban world the protagonists occupied before, it has the feel of a sentimental dreamworld. What's far worse, the characters - who are already archetypes to the point of being defined by 'tags' on the cover of the movie like 'the boyfriend' - are never developed or made convincingly real, in favor of attempting to create shock value. Then, past a certain point, it just gets really irritating. Woo-hoo! Party! Drink! Swear! Hit! It's not enlightening and it's not particularly entertaining, so what good is it?
I'm not just calling the movie unrealistic. It's true that many bored suburban kids do turn to some dangerous pursuits, but Better Luck fails to show this transformation in a convincing way. It comes off as swaggeringly immature. For those adults, mainly, who would tend to think the premise is wholly unrealistic - rich Asian kids commiting crimes? *gasp!* - maybe the film does have some value, just to correct that massive ignorance, but the savvier viewer gets the point from reading the back of the box.
Rating: 
Summary: Unique & Intriguing Movie, But the DVD is Lacking
Review: This movie is one of a kind. I've never seen a film about Asian American youth before. Sure there are Asian American movies like "Joy Luck Club" and "The Picture Bride", but this is different because it deals with Asian American youth in explicit detail. I grew up an Asian American, and I can see a lot of my personal experiences and a lot of stories from friends and family in this movie. The general population loves to stereotype Asians as smart nerdy mathematicians, but they don't know the dark side of Asian Americans. This film covers both sides of the story. More movies like this should be made... maybe a sequel, um I heard from the grapevine that there might be one coming. Needless to say that I love this movie, easily one of my favorites of all time. The casting is great and the acting is superb. Jason Tobin and Roger Fan leads the way, and a great casting job with John Cho, Parry Shen, Sung Kang, and Karin Anna Cheung. I've watched this movie numerous times, and to think this movie isn't a big budget film with sfx and choreographed wire-fu.
There is a problem, not with the movie, but with the DVD. It just has features movie and a commentary. It would be so much better if they had extra stuff like behind the scenes, making of, interviews with cast and director, etc... I wanted more from the DVD, because it's such a great movie, probably a landmark film for Asian Americans since "Joy Luck Club". I like the packaging of the DVD, good graphic design work, but the content of the DVD needs more stuff. This movie deserves a better edition DVD with all the trimmings. Anyway, that's my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Very nicely done !!!
Review: Justin Lin's little masterpiece is a simple foray into yet an untapped racial genre, that of Asian Americans. Parry Shen plays the balanced one, Ben Manibag, the one we as Asians would love to associate it. Ben is surrounded with over the top delinquents and we somewhat initially feel good that Ben is untainted and quite more humane, even though he does participate in the group's crime-spree escapades. However, his obsession with Stephanie (Karin Ana Cheung) clouds his reasoning as he delves into his "gang" as a respite from his inability to win her love.Stephanie's boyfriend posed as a the conflicting character that finally rips apart our good old boy Ben as he is torn with being a good person, but hopelessly in love with Stephanie. The beating was a real shocker and didn't seem to fall in line with Ben's character, which is my only peeve about the movie...the movie then just slowly digest into some melancholic musings and somehow the ending seem unfinished, unpolished, unresolved, and quite unimpressive...there was no resolution of conflict...we are shown Stephanie revelation yet we are still all unsure if the two can ever be together because of what Ben did... Virgil (Jason Tobin) is great...we can all seem to associate that weird Asian buddy of ours with Virgil...this movie is way heads above any Asian American movie including The Debut (Gene Cagayon's own teenage angst experiment) and American Adobo (i'm Filipino so i can only relate it with these movies!). Better Luck Tomorrow is a nicely done movie and i would heartily recommend it not just to Asian Americans, but to everyone tired of the crass and boring Tarentino-variety shockers and violent smash and bang bang thrillers. Justin Lin created a rare gem and something as Asians should all aspire, an original work of cinematic art without the sugar coat and culture-centric approach. Well done indeed. BTW, I'm a transplanted East Coaster originally from Southern California so I'm a bit partial to the movie's location shots - beach, spanish tiled roofs, fast cars, asians everywhere :)
Rating: 
Summary: All right
Review: I was not that impressed by the movie. It's like a delinquent movie, except that the youths are Asian. The movie does have a little feel of a Tarentino movie, which makes it better.
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